What is a captain?

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To play the role of team captain, it is both an honor and a responsibility. Most athletes aspire and strive to become one. On one hand, it is great because it serves as recognition of one’s credibility and ability to lead. On the other hand, it is a big responsibility because next to the coach, it is the captain who becomes in charge of the betterment of the team which entails a lot of sacrifice.

“I expect my team captains to act as leaders. They should always keep their team in line and help them to be the best they can be,” said sophomore and softball player Brooklynn Poole. It is important to remember that one does not have to be the best player on the team to be chosen the captain. Having great sports skills and talent is not the same as having the ability to lead the team in the right direction towards victory. It is also not equivalent to being able to inspire the team to bounce back in times of defeat.

“Although there are a variety of reasons why teams do not achieve their potential and ended their seasons early – such as injuries, conditioning, poor officiating and eligibility – the main reason is lack of good leadership,” said LiveStrong.com. Team captains are more important than most people think, they are what keep the team together, the “glue”.

“I look for someone that does the right thing when no one’s looking, someone who is first in line every time,” said assistant softball coach Jamie Bastow. When looking for a captain coaches look at a lot of different things. They don’t necessarily have to do with talents either they also look at talent, work ethic, and how they treat their teammates. Not everyone is born with great leadership skills. In fact, it is hard to find someone who is a natural leader. While athletes are all expected to be hardworking and committed to their sport, we cannot rule out the fact that each has his or her own set of personal values and individual attitude.

So what does it take to become someone who can lead a sports team? “I think that anyone can be a captain if they have the right intentions and motivation. You have to put in a lot of work to be a captain,” said Poole. Many different things that make a captain, captains need to be selfless, they also put the team’s goals before themselves as an individual.

All team captains are different. They do have some similarities though, they have to be leaders, and act professional and mature on and off the field by setting an example. They also need to make everyone feel welcome on the team.